CITY LIGHTS

If the no-frills Metacity window manager doesn’t give you the functio nality you need, try the Metacity add-ons Brightside and Devil’s Pie.

Software is no exception to the rule that there’s no accounting for taste. Some users enjoy a full featured, almost baroque approach, while others prefer to keep things more business-like. Window managers take this choice to extremes, from the mini malist TWM to the highly complex En lightenment, a window manager that decorates its windows with bells, whis tles, and even animations [1]. Metacity, the window manager for the Gnome desktop, is designed for simplic ity and does not confuse users with an overabundance of options. To achieve this aim, Metacity concentrates on the window manager’s core business: draw ing window decorations, organizing win dows, and moving windows. Gnome ap plets step in to handle additional func tions such as virtual desktops.